Make every story count.

1. For the Love of Soccer: Unite and Change.

To improve the quality of life of women and families, we need to change societies perception of ‘gender roles’, and to do this we need men to take an active part.

Soccer is the most played sport in the world but only 14% of women play it. Kızlar Sahada (Girls on the Field), uses soccer as a tool to bring men and women together and to empower women through team spirit. By reversing gender roles over our beloved game, Kızlar Sahada has created life-changing memories and revelations in participants’, and their families’ lives. Despite significant media coverage and public interest, media’s superficial, and misconstructed perception of the initiative’s mission remains a significant issue.

As Kizlar Sahada aims to grow across Turkey – especially in areas where gender inequality is strongest – as well as abroad, it needs members to tell their stories for others to be inspired so the phenomenon can become a global movement.

There are two local challenges to be tackled. The first question is: How do we grow across Turkey without creating clashes at home where conservative dynamics play a big role? The second one is the growth model itself. How do we grow sustainably, without the need of big investment across Turkey? Finally, the one question abroad is the campaign itself: What do we name the project abroad and how do we make it heard?

2. Third Wave Coffee and Third Way of Thinking: “They Speak Sign Language”

A shocking 4% of the population in Turkey is deaf. However, Turkish sign language was banned until 2005 as an “incentive” for the deaf to speak. Despite the progress of the last few years the focus of the Turkish government is merely on ‘assisting’ rather than embracing and integrating. A lot still needs to happen for the deaf population to feel part of mainstream society.

As Dem Foundation, we believe in an alternative approach for a better social integration. We want to encourage natural day-to-day interactions between deaf and non-deaf. Project Cezve (Coffee Pot) is a step in that direction. The first 3rd wave coffee shop that also teaches people about the situation of the 3 million deaf people in Turkey. The café is run by deaf and non-deaf people and serves as a home for everyday interactions, aiming to shift perceptions through empathy and collective action.

Combining deaf culture and an ages old coffee ceremony in public, we invite everyone to think differently about coffee and people with disabilities.

3. Impact Driven Entrepreneurship.

Turkey has a particularly high youth unemployment rate, low female labor participation, and only ranks at 32 out of 34 states in the EU Innovation scorecard. The good news; the potential entrepreneur rate is above average compared to developing and developed countries. These factors, along with Istanbul undergoing a tremendous transformation, rapid urbanization, gentrification, and immense population increase, has opened the door for a different kind of entrepreneur, the impact driven entrepreneur – the changemaker whose bottom line is not money alone, but value generated for people, society and the environment.

Changemakers need to be brought together, supported with participatory mechanisms, and receive the necessary tools to innovate for creating greater impact. Impact Hub Istanbul aims to not only be the physical epicenter for a learning and growing community of change makers, but also to create opportunities to be a part of a bigger, global vision for a better world.

4. “Let me Win. But if I Cannot Win, Let Me Be Brave in the Attempt.”

Have you ever been friends with a mentally disabled person?
Have you been to the cinema with a mentally disabled individual?
Played games with him or her?

In Turkey it is almost impossible for mentally disabled people to step out of their limited environment and have an active social life. That is mostly due to societal prejudice, and limited social integration – even their families keep them behind closed doors.

Special Olympics Turkey utilizes sports as the main tool to provide a vibrant and meaningful setting for mentally disabled individuals and their families to step out of their constrained lives. By organising local and regional competitions in various disciplines, we give mentally disabled individuals opportunity to compete as athletes, unleash their potential, improve self-confidence, and take an active role in society.

We need to expand this objective to reach a larger audience and grow our community. Every disabled individual in Turkey should have the opportunity to become an athlete, thereby improving their lives and the lives of everyone they touch.

5. Cinema is in the Villages Now!

Why are cinema and art mainly seen as an activity directed towards the elite (or a more privileged population)?
If one makes a map of movie theaters in Turkey, he/she would see that many cities do not even have a movie theater!
SineMASAL started based on this observation. It is a social venture that enables children in rural areas to experience cinema and all forms of art.

So far SineMASAL Open Air Cinema Festival reached 17,000 children in rural villages. Over 87% of participants experienced watching a film on the ‘magic screen’ for the first time as well as other art activities such as live flamenco performances or puppet making.

Now, we ask the question “How do we scale SineMASAL’s impact and how do we cultivate the SineMASAL heritage beyond the festival?”
Pondering on this question led us to our biggest dream: SineMASAL Village! A self-sustaining village that invests its income for a film and arts academy for children and adults with big dreams but with limited financial resources. SineMASAL village will help cultivate a new dream and a new perspective on life opportunities for many!

Dreams do not mean much if you cannot communicate them strongly. Any creative and memorable communication piece that embodies the SineMASAL spirit will strengthen us in engaging key stakeholders for the village!